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By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, July 9 -- UN headquarters was full of uniformed generals on July 7, including from countries with militaries with questionable human rights records. The meeting, called “Chiefs of Defense,” was listed as open so Inner City Press went to cover it from the photo booth above Conference Room 1. At the front of the room Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the fifth Frenchman in a row to head the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, was given a speech. Inner City Press was taking some photographs, of the commanders from Sri Lanka and Egypt -- the C's with Cameroon and the B's with Burundi were in the front row, not in the line of sight of the photo booths -- when a UN Security officer burst in to the booth and demanded, “Are you supposed to be here?” Inner City Press told him it was an as open meeting, and pointed at several photographers in the booth on the other side of the room. The UN Security officer looked dubious and slowly backed out.  The meeting, which has been listed as being on UN Television all day, soon went dark. But the wrap-up speech, by Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed, was put back on UNTV and Inner City Press ran down from the windowless focus booth it is confined to work in, its long time office being given to Egyptian state media Akhbar al Yom on the pretext that Inner City Press sought to cover an event of the UN Correspondents Association in the UN Press Briefing Room. Mohammed noted the lack of women in the room - true - and said countries should only send troops with spotless records. (Inner City Press started a Periscope video which culminated with Lacroix' hand-shaking line, here.) The UN's lack of vetting of peacekeepers, exposed by Inner City Press then as credited by the Washington Post as to Burundi, has continued under Secretary General Antonio Guterres and, at least until now, his deputy Amina J. Mohammed. On July 7 Mohammed told the UN's Chiefs of Defense to only "send us personnel with spotless backgrounds." Video here. But will she accept the UN allowing Burundi's Colonel Mayuyu, which the UN itself repatriated for abuse, to be sent out to act on civilians in Somalia, in the UN supported AMISOM? It will be a test - one failed so far on ongoing censorship of the Press. Ten days after Inner City Press asked Guterres' holdover spokesman Stephane Dujarric about UN "pre-deployment" training for Major Gahomera, linked to the 12/12 massacre in Burundi, there has been no answer. Now it emerges that one of the Burundian officers that after Inner City Press inquiries in 2016 was repatriated from the UN mission in the Central African Republic, Colonel Mayuyu, is being sent back out again by Burundi, to the UN-supported mission in Somalia. Photographs here; September 16, 2016 Vine video still here. On July 6, Inner City Press asked Dujarric about it, video here, UN transcript here: Inner City Press:  I had asked you maybe about 10 days ago about this Mr. Gahomera of the Burundian military getting training, but you'd said from this very podium back in September [2016] there was Alfred Mayuyu, if the name rings any bells… he's now being redeployed.  He was repatriated by the UN from the Central Africa Republic due to his military history.  And he has now showed up on a list that's been published to be deployed to AMISOM, which is a UN-supported peacekeeping mission.  So, I wanted to know… I guess I'm relating the two of them in saying: what is the UN's role in making sure that people it repatriates with credible evidence of abuse don't simply go--

Spokesman:  I think that's a question first and foremost to be addressed to AMISOM.

Inner City Press:  I've also seen this document and Mr. Gahomera who I think is going to go to AMISOM, but it's a joint UN-AU predeployment training.  So, the UN's role is not just financial.  Isn't that an opportunity for the UN to vet abusers?

Spokesman:  I think as I said, that's a question first and foremost for AMISOM.

  Failure. That Michel Kafando was being pushed as (part-time) UN envoy on - but not in - Burundi was first reported by Inner City Press on April 20. Even as the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' holdover spokesman Stephane Dujarric refused to answer Inner City Press' question if Kafando had begun his "When Actually Employed" work, Inner City Press learned, and the UN then confirmed, that Kafando came to New York - then left on June 7. Now on June 26 UN "Pre-deployment" training will be given to Burundi military figures including Major Marius Gahomera, accused of killing seven youths as part of the 12/12 massacre. How can the UN continue to do no (effective) due diligence? On June 27, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric about this and another case, video here, UN transcript here: Inner City Press:  I wanted to ask you about Burundi.  On this issue of vetting that it was said a lot that vetting is taking place, there's a controversy now in Burundi that one Major Gahomera, who was charged with being part of the 12/12 massacre, is being trained as we speak today part of a UN pre-deployment training in Bujumbura.  And the documents have been made public.  So, they're wondering, what vetting takes place?

Spokesman:  I'm happy if you give me the… give me the name, email me the name and I will have…

Inner City Press:  Gahomera.  And there's one other one that's related.  It appears that one of the individuals repatriated from Central African Republic facing [Office of Internal Oversight Services] charges of sexual abuse there, a Mr.… a Major Sergeant Zepherin [sic] has just been redeployed to AMISOM, is it your understanding that --

Spokesman:  I don't have access to these individual cases.  What is clear is, if anyone is alleged to have committed sexual abuse, they need to face justice.  But, I will face… I will look at these two individual cases.  Thank you.

  As of July 5, nothing. And as Inner City Press alluded to on July 5, another dubious (re) deployment is looming: Mayuyu. On July 5, Inner City Press asked Dujarric, UN Transcript here: Inner City Press:  And on Burundi, I just wanted to ask you, the President of the Security Council, Liu Jieyi, had said there's a meeting on… on Burundi, and it's a little unclear to me whether it's only about the resolution that was to send the police.  It's almost a year or it's about to expire.  So, I wanted to know, I know there will be a meeting that day, but does the Secretary-General think that those police are still needed and should be deployed?

Spokesman:  The Secretary-General's reports outline his position.

  The UN has sunk so low that the lead spokesman for Secretary General Antonio Guterres Stephane Dujarric refused to even take a Press question about Burundi, where the UN itself says there is a risk of genocide. When Inner City Press said "Can I ask a question about Burundi," where there increased hate speech amid a warning from other parts of the UN of a threat of genocide," Dujarric replied, "No, we're done." Video here, contrasted. 

More here.

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